Ancestry of
Sally Ride
1st American Woman in Space
Who was Sally Ride?
Sally Ride was an American physicist and astronaut. In 1983 she became the first American woman in space when she flew on the space shuttle Challenger. She also became the youngest American astronaut in space at the age of 32, a record she still holds today. Sally Ride was also the only person to participate on both committees that investigated the Challenger and Columbia space shuttle disasters.
In 2011 Sally Ride was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer. She died just seventeen months later. In 2013 President Barack Obama posthumously awarded her with the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the highest civilian award in the United States.
Famous Kin
Sally Ride has a relatively close family connection to the actor Steve McQueen through their shared ancestors of Thomas McQueen and his wife Sarah Vaughn. Sally Ride also appears to have royal ancestry. The late William Reitwiesner claimed that Sally Ride was a descendant of Joseph Richardson and Elizabeth Bevan. Mr. Reitwiesner shared Joseph Richardson's parents Samuel and Eleanor Richardson as common ancestors with Ms. Ride. Unfortunately Mr. Reitwiesner did not give any evidence to support this claim which is why it is marked as “probable” in the Famous Kin charts. It is through Elizabeth Bevan that Sally Ride can claim royal ancestry.
False Claim
Mary Dugan is the probable 5th great-grandmother of Sally Ride. Some of Mary Dugan's descendants have claimed that Mary is the daughter of Jeremiah Dungan and Deborah Drake. This appears to be false as Mary Dungan is said to have married Abraham Vanhorn and not Joseph Richardson. Mary was Abraham's first wife and died before him as he remarried after her death to Mary Van Sciver.
Some of the most recently added connections of famous kin for Sally Ride
General Joseph E. Johnston
Confederate Army - U.S. Civil War
12th cousin 8 times removed
via John of Gaunt
Seth Low
Mayor of New York City
President of Columbia University
15th cousin 5 times removed
via John of Gaunt
Angela Y. Davis
Civil Rights Activist
and former Black Panther
19th cousin 1 time removed
via John of Gaunt
View entire list of famous kin for Sally Ride
Please note: The ancestor reports on this website have been compiled from thousands of different sources, many over 100 years old. These sources are attached to each ancestor so that you can personally judge their reliability. As with any good genealogical research, if you discover a link to your own family tree, consider it a starting point for further research. It is always preferable to locate primary records where possible. FamousKin.com cannot and does not guarantee the accuracy and reliability of these sources.